


Only In Dreams

by AChampagneSupernova



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drama, F/M, Fake Dating, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-06 17:08:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11605092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AChampagneSupernova/pseuds/AChampagneSupernova
Summary: Willa Beasley has a passion for wand lore and baking, and a crush on her sister's ex-boyfriend. James Sirius Potter has a broken heart, a passion for making Willa blush, and a plan.





	1. Chapter 1

It was one of those late August days that you wait for all summer. The sky was a rich shade of blue and there was not a cloud in sight. The sun shone, but not in an oppressive way as it had for much of the summer, but in a warm and inviting way.

I was feeling very nostalgic for summer even though it wasn't technically over yet. I loved summer though. Many of my favorite memories happen between June and August when it is just me and Clemence and Della and Tristan.

It was one of our last days altogether and we were outside in the backyard.

Della was busy sorting through her chocolate frog cards. We had just been to Diagon Alley buying our books, and she had convinced our father to buy her eight chocolate frogs. She lay nearby on the grass and hummed to herself, keeping herself busy. We were all just fortunate that her sugar high was over.

Clemence and Tristan and I sat on a blanket under the willow tree. We had just had a little picnic and now as Clemence and Tristan were playing a game of exploding snap while I read a book in the sun, enjoying my last few days of freedom.

"I can't believe it's almost over," I mused looking up from my book, To The Core: A Modern Study of Wand Cores.

"What?" Clemence questioned.

"Summer," I explained and then motioning around I added, "This!"

"Always so dramatic Willa," Clemence shook her head, a small smile forming on her lips.

"Oh come on, aren't you going to miss this?" I asked her, sitting up on my elbows and looking over at her.

"Of course I will, but it's not like we are never going to see each other again. I'll still be around!"

"But everything is changing!" I exclaimed, "You are done with Hogwarts and starting a new life without us. And I still have two whole years left at Hogwarts while you are off galavanting around the world making new friends and replacing us."

"Willa I'll never be able to replace you and Della! You are my sisters! I'm stuck with you no matter what," She assured me, closing her book and adding, "And I'll be home for Christmas. And I'll write you all the time! Don't worry!"

"And we'll still be together Wills. I have a feeling this is going to be your year at Hogwarts." Tristan commented winking at me, flashing his perfect smile. My heart skipped a beat and even though I'd known Tristan for years now, was amazed that he can still make my heart skip a beat.

Tristan Davies was perfect in our eyes.

Our families had been friends since they'd moved next door eleven years ago. I was five, he was six, and Clemence was seven. Della had only been a baby so she didn't play with us very much back then.

At first, his parents had forced him to come over. The adults would sit on the back porch and talk while we played in the back yard. Our Mum's had gone to school together at Hogwarts and our Dad's got along really well. Clemence, as the oldest, was always in charge and picked what games we would play. She was still in charge most of the time. She would boss Tristan around and tell him to pretend to be a dragon and chase us around. The adults would laugh in amusement at Clemence's antics and how Tristan and I would follow her around, listening closely to her every instruction.

After a while, Tristan started coming over without his parents telling him too. We would play chess or my Mum would help us bake in the kitchen or we would go see local Quidditch games with our Dad's.

And then Clemence turned eleven and went to Hogwarts and it was just Tristan, Della and I left. I missed Clemence a lot but I didn't mind it being just the three of us that much. Things quickly fell back into place when Clemence came home for Christmas, Easter, and summer though.

Then the next year Clemence and Tristan had gone to Hogwarts. I had felt so left out when they'd come home and talked all about everything they were learning. I felt so much younger than them and left out of their special club. I couldn't wait to start at Hogwarts and had been thrilled when I'd received Hogwarts' letter on my eleventh birthday.

Clemence had let me sit with her friends on the train to school and she'd paraded me around and introduced me to practically everyone in her year.

I'd been so sure that I was going to be sorted into Gryffindor and be with Clemence or Hufflepuff and be with Tristan. But then I was sorted into Ravenclaw. Clemence had said that she knew I would be a Ravenclaw because I was open minded and always so eager to learn. I had never been particularly competitive about grades and while I certainly always got solid good marks I never got the best marks in my year, however, I had always been a voracious reader and when I found something that interested me, I would become obsessed and study it from every aspect and angle. I had at first been disappointed about being put in Ravenclaw, however, over the years I had my place within my house and had grown to love it.

Tristan, Clemence and I all had our own friends and we were all in different classes but that was okay because everything would pick up in the summer and we would be the same as we always were.

In my first year at Hogwarts, I came to realize that Clemence was one of the most popular and beautiful girls at Hogwarts. I had always seen her as perfect and gorgeous, but it turned out that was how the entire school saw her. She was always surrounded by friends. She was always invited to parties and boys watched her as she walked down the hall.

Clemence was incredibly lovely with her long chestnut brown hair and beautiful glowing brown eyes and faultless smooth skin. She was tall, but not too tall, and had a willowy build. She had thick black eyelashes, high cheekbones, and naturally pink lips. She looked the most like our mother of the three of us, something I was always jealous of her for. People told me that I looked like Clemence and I saw the resemblance. We did look similar. However, I had a rounder face and blue eyes. I was also significantly shorter than her, which I apparently took after my grandmother. My hair was a shade darker and was always wavy as opposed to Clemence's silky hair.

Della looked the most like our dad. She was wiry and had honey blonde hair and wild blue eyes. She smiled the brightest of the three of us. She was almost as tall as me, even though was only twelve and was on a track to being taller than Clemence.

Clemence made everything look easy and it wasn't easy having everyone call me "Clemence Beasley's sister." I was constantly being compared to her and I knew that I couldn't live up to her standards. But I loved her dearly and never blamed her for it. I was glad that everyone saw Clemence the way I saw her.

Everybody, students, and teachers alike loved Clemence. And Tristan was no exception.

They had gotten together two summers ago. I had always seen the way that Tristan looked at Clemence. A look full of admiration and amazement. I had always wanted him to look at me like that. They had gone for a walk one day and when they came back Clemence was smiling and she told us that she and Tristan were now dating.

I had been surprised at first. Not that Tristan liked Clemence, because everyone liked Clemence, but that Clemence liked him back. She had always said that she did not want a boyfriend at Hogwarts, but she and Tristan worked together.

Tristan had he been there for us when our Mum had died when I was twelve. He played chess with Della for hours and never got bored or took her to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes when she was running up the walls and driving Clemence and me crazy. He was good to Clemence and brought her flowers every Tuesday. He was going to become a healer to care for magical creatures. He had been selected as Head Boy and all of the teachers loved him. He was the type of guy that opened doors for girls and helped elderly people cross the street.

Tristan was perfect.

But I didn't love him because he was perfect. I think I loved him because everyone loved him and he had always been a constant in my life.

At first, it had hurt when he'd chosen Clemence, but if it wasn't going to be me, I was glad that it was Clemence.

Later that night, after Tristan had gone home and Della and Dad were asleep, it was just me and Clemence. Clemence was sitting in the cozy arm chair in the living room making a packing list of things she needed to get before she left for Hungary and I was in the kitchen baking treacle tarts, Dad's favorite. I always missed baking at Hogwarts and so I tried to bake as much as possible over the summer.

I had just finishing stirring the batter when Clemence suddenly looked up and said, "I broke up with Tristan." She didn't even look up from her book.

I almost dropped the batter I was so surprised by this revelation, "What? Why?" I wondered in alarm, my voice tight as I tried to stay calm.

"It was time Willa. You and Tristan and Della are all going back to school in a week and the distance would be too difficult," She explained simply. I examined her face, trying to find a trace of emotion but her eyes were not red or puffy. She had not been crying. Her voice was calm and calculated.

"Just because you're done with Hogwarts doesn't mean you have to break up!" I informed her as I poured the batter into a tin to bake, "This is Tristan we are talking about after all, not just some random guy."

"Hogwarts is a whole nother world, Willa. And while you guys are in that secluded world, I'm going to be in Hungary and it just… What would be the point?" She sighed.

The point? The point is that it's Tristan Davies. Perfect Tristan. Tristan, the boy that loves you and would do anything for you! I wanted to scream out to her, but I didn't. I kept my mouth closed and nodded because it was my duty to be on Clemence's side no matter what.

"I don't want to hold him back from enjoying seventh year. And I want to experience everything without having to think of anyone before myself. I know it's selfish but I think it's for the best."

"I guess." I shrugged, trailing off as if it wasn't a big deal, even though it totally was. I knew she was right but Tristan and Clemence had been the Hogwarts couple. I had watched them go from family friends whose parents forced them to hang out to being real friends to them being a serious relationship. I had been there to see their story unfold and it just didn't seem right that the story should end like this. "But if you change your mind..."

Her face fell and I finally saw that she was struggling with her decision at least a little bit, however, she quickly shook her head and declared in a very final voice, "I'm not going to change my mind," she closed her notebook which she had been writing in.

"If you say so," I commented hesitantly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Clemence furrowed her eyebrows, seeming slightly frustrated.

"I just don't think you two are done, Clem. You two are going to be back together in no time. You love him and he loves you and that is all that matters!" I finished triumphantly but Clemence just shook her head and tutted like I was a child instead of me being just two years younger than her.

Her expression softened, "You are too romantic for your own good Wills," She smiled sadly and then walked over to me and gave me a quick hug and kiss on the cheek and whispered, "I love you," to me before heading up to bed.

After I'd finished baking and cleaning up, I walked over to the kitchen window. Tristan's light was still on. What was supposed to happen now? Tristan and I were still friends, right? Was I allowed to talk to him now that he was my sister's ex?

I couldn't help but think too, I would have never let you go Tristan.

I quickly pushed that thought out of my head though and quickly run upstairs and go to bed and try to think about anything other than Tristan Davies.

Clemence had always been so good at taking care of us that it wasn't really a surprise to us when she announced that she wanted to be a healer. It made sense.

What was difficult was that Clemence had been accepted to a prestigious healing program in Hungary to study and learn more about healing. That meant that she would be thousands of miles away from us. I was so proud of her, but I was still a little sad. I wished that she could stay home close to Dad and always be in our little house, waiting for me to come home. But that wouldn't be fair of course. She needed to start her life.

Clemence was leaving for Hungary two days after we left for Hogwarts. I was going into my sixth year, Della was going into her second year and Tristan was going into his seventh year.

Clemence, Della and I spent every day before September first together. We spent our time packing and hanging out and talking about Hungary and the upcoming year at Hogwarts. Although I had always liked when Tristan was with us, it was kind of nice to have it just be the sisters.

Della had trouble understanding what it meant that Tristan and Clemence were broken up. She kept wondering why Tristan had stopped coming over and when he was going to come back. I would shoot her looks to try to tell her not to mention it but she didn't quite get it, so Clemence would patiently explain that Tristan probably wasn't going to be coming over quite as much anymore and that they weren't dating but that Della and I could still be friends with him.

The night before Della and I left for Hogwarts, we were in Della's room helping her finish packing. I had finished packing the night before but Della tended to procrastinate.

Dad knocked on the door and entered, "I'm going to start bringing some of the stuff downstairs. What can I take down?" He wondered.

"I can do it!" Clemence suggested, reaching for her wand but Dad shook his head.

"I've got it!" He assured her.

Dad was a Muggle, but he was incredibly supportive of our wizarding careers. He and my Mum had met on the beach. According to Dad, it was love at first sight. She waited five months to tell Dad she was a witch but my Dad had fully accepted her and Wizarding culture. He had kept his job as a banker as Muggles really couldn't have jobs in the Wizarding World. I knew it was sometimes difficult for him to understand everything about magic without Mum to walk him through everything. He was always trying to keep up with Wizarding World news or reading books about Magical history, but he couldn't help us with spells or give us advice about Hogwarts.

While I loved Hogwarts, I always felt bad leaving him alone for such long periods of time. Sometimes I wished I was going to an average Muggle school where I could stay home and keep Dad company.

"Everything in my room is good to go! Della's stuff should be finished soon" I told him, "Thanks, Dad!" He grabbed a couple of my bags and took them downstairs.

"I wish I could go to Hungary with you," Della pouted, looking at Celemcne as she finished closing her trunk, "You are nicer than Willa!"

"Hey!" I complained glaring at her.

"You guys have to behave alright? Take care of each other. For Dad, right?" Clemence made us promise.

We both nodded grudgingly. We had all had an unspoken agreement since Mum died to make life as easy as possible for Dad. Things were always easy with Clemence around though.

We all slept in Clemence's room that night.

I woke up in the middle of the night and found that Clemence was missing. Della was curled up in a ball next to me. She was a wild sleeper and often thrashed and tossed and turned but she looked pretty peaceful. Clemence was gone though. I walked over to the window where a soft light was pouring through.

Clemence and Tristan stood in the driveway. I could see that Tristan was crying. I had never seen him cry before. They were standing pretty far apart and I knew that Clemence hadn't changed her mind about the breakup.

Feeling like I was intruding on a personal moment, I quickly crawled back into bed, leaving enough room for Clemence when she got back. I tried and failed to fall back asleep as I thought about what it was like to have a boy be so in love with you that he would cry about the idea of not being with you. And not just any boy, Tristan Davies. Our Tristan. My Tristan. Guilt began to creep in. Of course, he wasn't My Tristan, but despite everything, I still wished he was and I didn't know what to do about it.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day Dad and Clemence drove us to the train station. Outside King's Cross, we loaded up all of our trunks onto luggage carriers and made our way inside.

It always amazed me that no muggle seemed to notice the alarming amount of young people carrying owls, cats or rats through King's Cross every September first. Every year I was positive that some Muggle would see me run through the barrier at platform 9 3/4 and cause a commotion but it had never happened.

The tawny owl that Della and I shared, named Agatha hooted loudly as we made our way through the bustling train station.

"Shhh!" Della hissed at the owl who responded with another loud hoot. Dad laughed and pulled Della close to him, planting a big kiss on the top of her head.

"Daddy!" Della groaned, pretending to be embarrassed even though I knew that she loved being the center of attention and adoration.

Clemence was looking around nervously and I knew that she was worried she would see Tristan again.

Della ran through the barriers first, and then me. Dad and Clemence followed behind.

I couldn't help but smile as my eyes fell upon the scarlet engine before me. I loved summer and being home, but a part of me always missed Hogwarts while I was away. Thick clouds of steam wafted into the air from the engine and the platform was filled with parents and children and luggage carts.

Della quickly saw her friends and ran to go say hello. They were a little shy at first but quickly exchanged hugs. Dad followed behind her and went to go help Della put her trunk and Agatha on the train.

Clemence had already run into some of her younger Gryffindor friends and was wishing them well in their seventh year and giving all of her adoring fans hugs.

I scanned the crowds of people until my eyes fell upon a lanky girl with wild short dark hair and I grinned.

"Rory!" I called out to my best friend.

"Willa," She called back, "I'm so glad I caught you before you got on the train!" She announced as she made her way over to me, sounding very relieved. She was carrying a large black cat, which I had never seen before.

Rory Wood and I became friends my spring term of my first year when we had both been stuck outside Ravenclaw tower trying to answer the riddle that all Ravenclaw's were required to answer before entering the common room. For whatever reason, during fall term we hadn't really bonded but as we stood locked out of Ravenclaw tower that day, we had bonded that day and had been friends ever since.

She was the best Quidditch chaser at Hogwarts and debatably the best overall player. She was the best flyer that Ravenclaw had seen in years and she had been named captain during her fifth year. Rory was not only a good flier but very smart. She had created new revolutionary strategies and tactics which had helped Ravenclaw win the Quidditch Cup for the past three years.

Her father, Oliver Wood, had played professional Quidditch and was apparently a very big deal. Every time I had ever talked to Mr. Wood he talked to me about Quidditch and every time I just sat and nodded and pretended like I knew what he was talking about. A lot of people didn't initially realize who Rory's dad was because Rory looked a lot more like her mum, who was Indian. She also had a twin brother in Gryffindor named Rohan.

Although Rory and I were fairly different when it came to likes and dislikes we were a good balance for one another. She tended to be more outspoken and wasn't really one to beat around the bush while I was much quieter and tended to keep my nose in my books. None of our differences mattered though because at the end of the day I understood and accepted all of her quirks and personality traits and when it mattered most she was always there for me.

"I was worried I would have to stow away with some first years or something until dinner." She noticed I was staring at the cat and said, "Oh this is Victor! My Mum got him for me!"

"Wow," I appraised the cat who was huge and glaring at me angrily. I'd seen her a few times at the beginning of summer but Rory had spent the most of the summer at a Quidditch camp in Ireland. We'd still written letters and everything but it was good to see her in person.

"I have so much to tell you!" Rory commented grinning widely, "Let's go find a compartment first though!"

I nodded and followed after her, struggling as I dragged my heavy trunk behind me. We went down towards the end of the train and found an empty compartment. Rory immediately popped down with Victor beside her and flipped open her issue of Witch Weekly. She had already said goodbye to her parents.

"I'll meet you back here," I told Rory once I had secured my trunk, "I've got to go say goodbye to Clem and Dad."

Rory waved me off and I quickly ran back down the platform to where I had left Clemence last. Dad, Clemence, and Della were waiting for me and I almost started crying upon seeing them.

"Don't you dare forget about me!" Della warned Clemence as they hugged.

"I could never Della," Clemence promised with a smile.

As she pulled me in for a hug, I could feel the tears welling in my eyes but tried to control myself. "Write me!" I whispered to her as the lump in my throat grew.

"I will," She promised, "Take care of Della for me."

"Of course," I nodded as we broke apart.

"I love you Dad," I said standing on my tip toes to give him a goodbye hug.

"Love you too Willa," He mused giving me a kiss on the cheek.

I gave them both one last hug before turning to go.

"Bye Wills! Bye Della!" Clemence called after us and I waved to her one last time before stepping onto the train.

Only a few seconds after I got on the train, I heard a loud horn blare and then the train lurched forward. The younger students all waved eagerly to their families from the window.

"I'll see you later," Della said as she turned to go find her friends.

"Okay!" I called after her "I love you, Della!" Della turned around just to roll her eyes and glare at my declaration before continuing down the hall.

I turned and as soon as did was my heart skipped a beat because Tristan was standing just down the corridor with a few of his Hufflepuff friends. He was talking and laughing just like normal but the second he noticed me he frowned a little bit. I started walking his way, not with the intention of talking to him necessarily but just because I knew that Rory and I's compartment was just beyond where he was standing.

"Hey," Tristan said as I passed. His friends quickly ducked into their compartment to give us some privacy but I could tell they were still listening.

"Oh hey, Tristan!" I said as if I hadn't seen him in the tiny train corridor. I gave him a small smile but was about to continue walking when he scoffed.

"So because Clemence and I broke up, you're not going to talk to me either?" Tristan joked but I could hear the bitter sadness in his voice.

I stopped in my tracks and swiveled around to face him, "Of course I'm still going to talk to you!" I told him honestly.

He gave me a small smile and studied me for a moment before asking, "Did she tell you she was going to break up with me?" He asked seriously. I bit my lip, unsure if I should betray Clemence's trust, but he looked at me with his sad hazel eyes and begged, "Come on Wills, I know she tells you everything."

"She didn't tell me anything, I swear," I informed him.

"Do you think she could change her mind?" He wondered hopefully.

I didn't know which was the right answer because both yes and no would hurt him. I didn't want to get his hopes up because Clemence usually didn't change her mind but I still believed that Clemence loved him.

"Maybe," was my final answer.

Tristan absorbed my answer before asking, "Is she doing okay?"

"I think so," I nodded, wishing that he wasn't asking me these questions about Clemence. He seemed disappointed in my answer and I realized that a part of him probably wanted Clemence to be hurting as much as he was.

"Okay…" He accepted and then he asked, "We're still friends right?"

"Of course! I'm not going anywhere," I assured him.

"Good, I'd hate to lose you too," Tristan grinned and before going into his compartment with his friends he added, "I'll catch you later Wills."

When he disappeared back into his compartment I stood frozen for a moment, my heart pounding in my chest. He still wanted to be friends. He didn't want to lose me just like I didn't want to lose him. Quickly I had to recompose myself though and I headed back to Rory and I's compartment.

The rest of the train ride was uneventful. I'd brought some sweets that I had baked with me and while we ate them Rory filled me in on her time in Ireland and the fling that she'd had with one of the professional players. It was all very romantic and I was a little bit jealous of how much more exciting her summer had been than mine. I told her the only gossip I had about Tristan and Clemence. She was the only person that knew how I felt about Tristan.

"No way!" Rory said her eyes widening in shock as Victor slept on her lap, "They are done?"

"Yes," I nodded solemnly, "But you can't tell anybody!"

"Are you going to do anything about it?" She questioned pensively.

"He still loves her, and I think she still loves him too," I explained.

"Yeah but Clemence isn't here anymore," She stroked Victor who let out a purr of content.

"I couldn't do that to Clem," I told her crossing my arms over my chest. Rory had a brother, she didn't understand what sisterhood entailed.

She shrugged and went back to her Witch Weekly magazine and pulled out one of my books. It was growing darker and darker outside as we grew closer to Hogwarts and the landscape outside had changed from countryside to woods.

I was just finishing my books when a voice echoed throughout the train, "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minute's time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to school separately."

Rory and I quickly changed into our robes, making sure to lock the door as last year a first-year boy had accidentally walked into our compartment while we were changing and Rory and yelled at him and he had started to cry.

When the train stopped, we left our stuff behind and exited the train for the tiny Hogsmeade platform. Rory had insisted on bringing Victor and I hadn't bothered to question her about it.

"Oh no!" Rory cried as soon as we'd reached the platform, "I think I left my wand on board! I better go get it!" She quickly decided and I nodded in agreement as a wand was about the worst thing a witch could lose, "Can you hold Victor? He tends to wander if I'm not holding him."

"Sure," I agreed and accepted the cat as Rory passed him over to me, fighting her way through the crowds of students who were trying to exit the train to get back to our compartment. Victor was almost half my size and a lot heavier than he looked. He immediately began to fidget in my arms.

I watched as Hagrid, the aged and giant Care of Magical Creatures teacher, called for the first years so that they could take their traditional ride across the lake and smiled remembering the first time I had seen Hogwarts as we crossed the lake and how excited and nervous I'd been knowing that the castle was going to be my new home for the majority of the year.

"Ow!" I cried suddenly being pulled out of my memory as the cat scratched me and squirmed out of my arms and fell to the ground, I watched in horror as the cat sprinted across the platform and without even thinking I went sprinting after him, "Victor! Wait" I yelled in vain after the cat as I chased it along the platform. People started watching and although I was embarrassed, I was not about to lose my best friends cat.

I continued to sprint after the cat, getting desperate. In my hurry, I almost trampled a group of first years and jumped out of the way last second to avoid the collision. In all of the chaos though, I found myself losing my balance and falling to the ground. Luckily it wasn't a devastating fall or anything and I managed to push myself up and keep following the cat but I was several meters behind Victor now.

Suddenly in the distance, towards the very end of the train, I saw a pair of arms reach out and grab the cat and let out a sigh of relief.

That was until I saw who was holding Victor.

It was James Sirius Potter.

He was alone and seemed to be the last person getting off the train. He was holding Victor easily in his arms and looking around in confusion. Suddenly his eyes fell on me and he quirked his head in curiosity.

"Are you alright?" James asked looking me up and down with a look of amusement. I must have looked frazzled but I didn't really care now that I was sure that Victor was secured.

"Yeah I'm fine, thanks," I said reaching out for the cat, but James didn't immediately give him back as I had expected him too.

"Your hand is bleeding," James commented nodding down to my hand.

"Oh that's nothing," I assured him, "The cat scratched me."

"Is he yours?" James wondered. He began petting Victor's head and Victor started purring again.

"No, he's Rory's," I informed him, holding out my arms expectantly again, but James didn't seem to be in any sort of hurry.

"Oh maybe I should keep him then," James grinned, holding Victor closer in a protective fashion, "Hold him hostage until the Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor game. Do you think that would mess up Wood's game?" James played Quidditch too. He was a keeper. Apparently, he was pretty good too.

I wasn't totally sure how to respond. I didn't know James Potter very well. Of course, we had been in classes together before and I knew who his parents were. His parents, Harry and Ginny Potter were famous. James and his siblings and extended family were the constant sources of gossip in the entire magical community and their pictures were in the newspaper every so often. I remembered having History of Magic with him third year and when Professor Binns had started talking about Voldemort and Harry Potter, the whole class had turned to face James and he had turned bright red.

For the most part, James and I ran in completely different circles. James was quite popular and almost always surrounded by a group of friends, which was why it was so weird to be standing in front of him now one on one as he held my best friends cat. Aside from one or two possible words exchanged I had never talked to him like this before.

"James!" I heard a cry from nearby. James and I both turned to see Holly MacMillan standing with a group of girls. She beckoned over to him.

Holly and I were friends my first year. She was in Gryffindor and we'd met on the train while Clemence was introducing me to everyone in sight. Even though we were in different houses, that had never stopped us from hanging out by the lake or doing our homework together. She had never liked Rory though and had become very jealous of her after we started becoming friends. I had never seen the problem and had tried to remain friends with both of them. The next year though Holly had eclipsed me. She reinvented herself and started over, leaving me behind and instead gravitated to the girls in Gryffindor. She'd never said it but I had always suspected the fact that my mother had died that summer had scared her off.

We weren't friends anymore. We didn't even wave or smile at each other when we passed by each other in the hall. We just pretended like we had never known each other.

"You should probably go. Holly wants you," I said giving James a small smile. James gave a small huff like he didn't care but quickly glanced back at Holly to make sure she wasn't mad at him.

"I should probably let you give Wood her cat back right?" James suggested finally.

"That's probably a good idea," I agreed as James gingerly passed Victor back to me. Victor immediately began to protest but this time I was not letting him escape. "Thanks for your help, I would never have caught up to him."

"Glad I could help," James grinned as he ran a hand through his dark hair, seeming to really enjoy the praise, "See you around Beasley."

I was a little surprised that he knew my last name but then I remembered that he had known Clemence. That's how a lot of people knew me.

"Bye Potter," I give him a small wave as I watched him walk away feeling a strange sense of longing as he met Holly and they held hands and walked off towards the carriages. James was certainly very handsome, in a classical old fashioned way with his wavy jet black hair and warm bright brown eyes. His look was timeless. Holly owned him though, everyone knew that even though they were constantly off and on.

James was certainly very handsome, in a classical old fashioned way with his messy jet black hair and warm bright brown eyes. His look was timeless. He was tall and charming and funny and popular. Holly owned him though, everyone knew that.

"Willa," Rory said suddenly appear behind me, snapping me out of my trance, "There you are! What happened?"

"I don't think Victor likes me very much," I said as Victor hissed in my arms. I practically threw Victor back to Rory who quickly snuggled into Rory's arms. I narrowed my eyes at the cat, amazed by how much he seemed disliked me.

"Victor?" Rory questioned, "Victor loves you!"

"He has an interesting way of showing it," I sighed, Rory opened her mouth to protest but I quickly cut her off, "It's fine don't worry about it. Let's just go inside. I'm starving!"

"I'm with you there," She agreed and we headed off towards the carriages together.

The start of term feast was incredible as usual apart from Peeves the poltergeist attempting to instigate a food fight which Head Master McGonnagal had put an end to, but not before a bowl of mashed potatoes had gone flying across the Ravenclaw table, nearly hitting me straight on. When I'd looked up Tristan had looked very concerned from the Hufflepuff table and I'd shot him a thumbs up to say I was okay and he'd laughed and my heart had almost burst in happiness.

When we were done eating Rory, carrying Victor, and I had made the long trek up the spiral staircase to Ravenclaw tower. I was out breath by the time we made it to the top after not walking up so many stairs all summer.

Rory knocked on the bronze eagle knocker once and the eagle opened its mouth and its soft voice asked, "If I drink I die, but if I eat I'm fine. What am I?"

Rory and I thought for a moment before I decided, "A fire?"

"Oh good one!" Rory said appreciatively as the door swung open. A few second years followed behind us seeming glad that they hadn't had to answer the question themselves.

We were greeted by the familiar calming blue of the Ravenclaw Common Room. It looked the same with the large statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, the fully stocked bookshelves and the tables and chairs which were perfect for studying. One of my favorite parts of the common room had always been the painted stars that glowed from every ceiling which I stared at every night before going to sleep.

The Common Room was beginning to fill up and I spotted the other girls Rory and I shared our dormitory with. Grace Entwhistle and Chloe Malone and Marie Carmichael who were sat by the fire. Grace was the Ravenclaw prefect our years and could be very bossy. Meanwhile, Marie probably got the best marks out of all of us, and let everyone know and Chloe was a lot more relaxed and on the Quidditch team with Rory. They greeted us when we walked in and we chatted about our summer's for a bit. I let Rory do most of the talking but learned that Chloe had started dating Brandon Thomas, a seventh year Gryffindor boy she had fancied for some time and had worked with at the Daily Prophet over the summer, Grace had spent most of her summer studying obliviation in London with her Dad who worked in that department and Grace had split her summer between volunteering at St. Mungo's and interning at the Ministry in the Department of International Wizard Policy. I didn't have very much to report about my summer and didn't tell them about Tristan and Clemence breaking up. I was sure that would circulate soon enough. Rory and I decided to go upstairs and get ready for bed.

We both unpacked and while Rory hung up her Quidditch posters while I pulled out my magic photograph of Clemence, Della and I and my Muggle picture my parents on their wedding day and put them on my bedside table. When we were done unpacking

When we were done unpacking we both pulled on our pajamas. Rory fell asleep very quickly, with Victor curled up at the end of her bed. I tried to start a new book, however, I kept getting distracted. I kept thinking about Clemence not being at Hogwarts and Tristan saying he didn't want to lose me too and how I'd had nothing interesting to share when we'd been talking to Grace, Chloe, and Marie about our summers. I wanted something interesting and exciting to happen to me this year. I wanted this to be my year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked the chapter! If you did I would so appreciate a review or kudos!
> 
> This story is based on the book To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
> 
> What did you think of James's first appearance? He's going to be in the story a lot more coming up here!


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up early on the first day of school. I was usually the first one up in our dorm so I was used to getting ready quietly as to not wake Rory, Grace, Marie, and Chloe. Shoving my books into my bag I tiptoed out of the room before headed downstairs to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Breakfast during the week was always Clemence, Della and I's thing. It started my first year when Clemence saw me eating alone and came to eat with me. Then it just became a tradition. We ate breakfast together every weekday morning no matter what. Della and I were both in Ravenclaw so Clemence usually came to sit with us. Even Tristan wasn't allowed to eat breakfast with us. I had been okay with Tristan joining us but Clemence had insisted that it just be us girls.

Rory never ate breakfast because she liked sleeping in. She usually waltzed into every class just as it started. It was always my job to save her a seat.

Della joined me a few minutes after I got down to the Great Hall.

"You came!" I said happily, even though I had known that she would.

"Of course I did," Della said as she sat down and helped herself to a piece of toast.

"Good," I smiled.

"Hey Beasley girls," Tristan said striding towards us. He was wearing his head boy badge and a perfect smile on his face.

"Hey, Tristan!" Della greeted him excitedly. She had always loved Tristan so much. He was the older brother she had never had.

"Hey, Dell!" He grinned, "Are you excited for the first day of school?"

"I guess," She shrugged taking a bite of her toast.

"Only an I guess?" Tristan requested.

"I don't know I have Charms first…" She trailed off.

"Charms is one of the most important classes Della," I pointed out to her and she shot me a glare.

"I thought you liked Charms?" Tristan asked Della.

"It's okay..." Della said, "I'm not very good at it though, so it's not my favorite."

"Well if you ever need any help with it, I happen to be pretty good at charms and I can help you out!" Tristan suggested and my heart skipped a beat. I loved how much he would do to help Della.

"What about you Wills?" He asked turning to me, "You ready for your first day?"

"Yes, I am!" I affirmed, "I got a new quill and fresh parchment and everything."

"If there's one thing I've learned from you it's the importance of a good quill," Tristan shook his head, knowing my love for new school supplies, "Alright, my mates are waiting for you but I'll talk to you later?"

"For sure," I nodded hoping that there would be a later.

Tristan walked over to the Hufflepuff table to sit with his group of friends.

"I miss Tristan," Della said once Tristan was out of earshot.

"We can still be friends with him even if Clem isn't dating him," I told her.

"It feels different though," Della explained.

I nodded, understanding what she meant, "I know."

For the rest of breakfast, we primarily talked about Della's friend Ariel who was always causing trouble within her friend group. Della always defended her but I was not the biggest fan of Ariel.

When the owls flew into the Great Hall as they did every morning, Agatha gave a loud hoot as she dropped by a letter from Clemence. The letter said that she was about to leave for Hungary and wishing us a good first day of school. She had also included some scones that had a little bit too much salt in them but I still appreciated the gesture. I gave myself a mental note to write her back as soon as possible. I was definitely not going to mention Tristan in the note though.

Then it was time to go to class. I had Transfiguration first with the very austere Professor Carlton. Professor Carlton liked me and I was generally pretty good at Transfiguration. Rory was in the class with me. She was already being scouted for professional Quidditch however so she was basically taking whatever N.E.W.T.S she wanted to take.

I wanted to study wands though and Hogwarts didn't really have any set curriculum for wand making so Professor Flitwick had recommended a pretty basic schedule for me. I was taking Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, and Arithmancy.

Wand making was something that would acquire a lot of work after Hogwarts. I had been interested in it since I had seen Clemence get her wand. I was amazed by the process of the wand choosing the wizard. Wands were all unique in how and what they were made out of and every different combination of woods, cores and sizes could lead to a different result. When I had gone to Ollivander's with my Mum and my wand had chosen me I'd become obsessed and had read every book I could find on the subject.

Every time I went to Diagon Alley I visited the very elderly Mr. Ollivander who seemed half annoyed and half amused by my insistence. My goal was to become an apprentice to Ollivander and maybe even open my own wand shop one day. It was a far fetched plan but I could dream. Clemence thought I should have a backup plan but it was all I ever wanted to do.

I organized my desk while I waited for Rory to get to class, pulling out a roll of parchment, setting up my quill and ink. I was a fairly organized person and liked to get to class early to set all of my things up.

"Guess what Rohan told me?" Rory questioned as she slid into the seat next to me a minute before class started. This was always how Rory started a sentence when Rory had gossip. Rory was one of the most informed people in the school. I almost never knew any gossip and left it up to Rory to tell me everything.

"What?" I wondered.

"Holly and James broke up!" She whispered to me, "For real this time!"

"What?" I said my eyes widening in surprise.

"Isn't that great news!" She squealed.

"Why would that be good news?" I asked her curiously.

"Because Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are the best teams this year and if Potter is mending a broken heart he will be distracted and won't be able to block my quaffles!" She explained as if it were the most logical thing in the world. When it came to Quidditch, Rory was pretty cut throat.

"Well, in that case, it is very good news!" I laughed but I felt bad. I remembered the way he had looked at her on the Hogsmeade train platform and the hold she had on him. I wondered if he was okay and if she thought it was worth it. I couldn't even get one boy to love me, I couldn't imagine what it would be like to have two boys love me.

"She broke up with him," Rory announced, still whispering though, "Can you believe it? According to Rohan she met some guy over the summer, he works at Potage's."

"The cauldron store?" I said, "What was Holly doing in a cauldron store?"

"Who cares?" Rory shrugged, "I bet you she was cheating on James the whole summer though!"

"That's awful," I frowned. There was definitely something in the air because even though Holly and James had been very off again on again, they had been a Hogwarts institution, like Tristan and Clemence. It was breakup season.

Just then Professor Carlton walked in signaling it was time to stop talking.

I saw James later. He was with his cousin Fred Weasley II and his friends Billy Peterson, and Rohan. That was his main group. I probably wasn't supposed to know about the breakup so I tried to keep my face neutral as I passed him. He looked alright but I still couldn't help but feel bad for him.

School had officially begun and I was beginning to get into a daily routine.

Della and I were still doing breakfast every morning and Clemence had sent us three letters so far. It sounded like she was having a great time in Hungary and had already made a few friends in her program. She was struggling with the language a little bit but other than that it seemed to be going perfectly.

Sixth year was already shaping up to be a lot harder than fifth year. I had always gotten pretty above average grades but this year I wanted to shine and get all outstandings. Rory was only in Transfiguration, Astronomy, and Defence Against the Dark Arts with me so in Potions, Arithmancy and Charms I kind of kept to myself. I had managed to stay on top of everything so hard and was really and truly enjoying all of my classes. While they were very difficult they were also incredibly fascinating and with N.E.W.T.S we were able to go more in depth with studying than we ever had before.

Rory and I were currently in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

It was Professor Lupin's first year and he was shaping up to be an excellent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. It was strange to think of Teddy Lupin as a professor as he'd only graduated from Hogwarts a few years ago. Everyone knew both of his parents had died in the Battle of Hogwarts and he was close with the entire Weasley and Potter clan as Harry Potter was his godfather and was now engaged to Victoire Weasley. All of the girls in the class had a crush on him as he was the youngest professor and he was a Metamorphmagus who could change his appearance at will which he sometimes did at the end of class.

I'd been taking notes about nonverbal spells, which we were currently learning about and were going to practice next class, when Rory passed me a note saying So what are you going to do about the whole Tristan thing?

I don't know… I wrote back.

Well, you still like him right? She questioned.

Yes, of course, I do. I think I might love him. He's perfect. But I don't feel like I can do anything about it. He loves Clemence. I replied.

Just go up and tell him how you feel She wrote back.

You know I'm not going to do that!

Why not?

It's too soon I lamely explained.

I suppose you are right...

Then Professor Lupin started talking about something that he said would be on our upcoming paper so I started taking real notes again.

Walking down the hall after class, Rory and I made plans to do our homework by the lake. Usually, I worked exclusively in the library but it was still so nice outside and I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to summer yet. She had a meeting with the other Quidditch captains about practice schedules but she agreed to meet me there.

On my way down to the lake, I saw Tristan. He was coming up from Care of Magical Creatures, which along with herbology was his favorite class. He waved and strode up to me when he saw me.

"Wills!" He greeted me.

"Hey Tristan," I smiled tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

"Beautiful day right?" He said gesturing around. Tristan was pretty outdoorsy.

"Yeah, I'm about to go meet Rory by the lake to do our homework. You can join if you want!" I invited him even though I knew Rory wouldn't be super happy if he said yes. Rory and Tristan were not super fond of each other. They didn't have much in common. Rory understood how important he was to me though so she kept quiet for the most part.

"I wish I could," He sighed, "I have Herbology, unfortunately."

"You love Herbology!" I pointed out.

"Yeah but I'd rather hang out by the lake with you than in the green house with Professor Longbottom," He informed me before adding, "By the way, you wouldn't happen to have your potions notes with you, would you? Professor Slughorn told me that your year was going over Living Death and I need it for N.E.W.T.S." He was in his second year of N.E.W.T.S

"Oh yeah I do," I nodded digging through my bag which was uncharacteristically messy, "Here!" I said handing him a bunch of notes from potions the other day.

"Thanks. I'll get these back to you as soon as possible!" Tristan promised, "Enjoy the lake. Don't fall in, alright? I won't be there to drag you out this time."

"It happened one time!" I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore the way my heart was beating. I had fallen in my third year and Tristan had immediately jumped in after me and saved me.

Suddenly he blushed a little bit, "I'm so glad we are still friends Wills. I don't know what I would do without you," He said looking at me. I felt it all, every moment, every moment we'd ever shared. He gave me a quick hug and one last smile before turning to make his way back up to the castle.

I continued on to the lake. I had a Defence Against the Dark Arts paper to write so I began looking for my notes which I had taken in class. I knew I had put them in my bag but I couldn't find them anywhere. I must have accidentally given them to Tristan along with my Potions notes. I didn't worry about it for a while, I would just ask him for the Defence Against the Dark Arts notes at dinner. I laid back on my blanket and shut my eyes enjoying the sunshine.

However, my eyes shot open suddenly when I realized that those were the notes that Rory and I had been writing on earlier in class.

The notes that stated that I "might love" Tristan.

Oh Merlin.

No.

No.

No.

This wasn't happening. This was all some horrible nightmare. Tristan was going to look through my notes and find out that I liked him. Scratch that. He'd find out that "I think I might love him." I felt faint thinking about it.

I ran back up to the castle not bothering to wait for Rory. I'd explain everything to her later. I ran like the wind. I couldn't think of a time when I had run so hard or so fast. I ran so hard that a couple of times I had to stop because I felt like I was going to throw up and then I remembered what the note said and I kept running.

I was almost to flustered to answer the question at Ravenclaw tower but luckily a fourth-year boy was able to answer it and I sprinted up to my dorm to quickly searched my room to see if I had somehow left the notes behind but I couldn't find them.

"Hey! I thought we were going to meet by the lake?" I heard Rory say behind me, back from her captain's meeting, "I was just about to head down to the lake!"

I immediately pounced on her, "Rory! Do you have my Defence Against the Dark Arts notes?" I said frantically.

"No? Why?" She said, looking at me like I was crazy.

"Can you check?" I demanded.

"Sure…." She said going through her book bag slowly to see if she had my notes "What's going on Wills?" She finally asked.

"I think I gave Tristan my Defence Against the Dark Arts notes!" I explained, talking very quickly pacing back and forth.

"So?" She questioned, still not seeing the problem.

"Do you remember what we were writing on those notes?" I asked her, she didn't remember so I elaborated, "I wrote that I liked him, maybe loved him remember?"

"Shit!" She groaned, "Oh no Wills! I don't have them!" She grimaced as she flipped to the end of her notes. It was quiet for a minute and then she innocently asked, "Well it might not be such a bad thing right? At least he knows how you feel now!"

"No, it is a really bad thing!" I shook my head, "I didn't want him to find out like this! He and Clem only broke up a few weeks ago!"

"Well maybe he lost the notes or maybe he hasn't read them yet!" Rory said, saying anything to keep me from falling apart.

"Maybe…" I trailed off wanting to cry.

I skipped dinner that night not wanting to face Tristan. I knew I would have to at some point but I wasn't ready. I couldn't.

"He asked where you were," Rory mentioned as she came back from dinner. She had made me a little plate of food and had included a large slice of chocolate cake. Grace, Marie, and Chloe had all shot me very concerned looks but hadn't asked what was wrong which I was grateful for.

I bit my lip, nodding but not saying anything. My stomach churned and somehow I knew that he had read the notes and now Tristan knew how I really felt about him.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning I woke up with a plan.

The plan: to avoid Tristan forever.

Okay so maybe it wasn't my best plan and maybe I couldn't avoid him forever but maybe I could just avoid him until everything died down and he forgot about what my note had said and then we could go back to normal.

There was still a tiny chance he hadn't even seen them. Maybe he had lost the notes.

I was clearly in denial.

I entered the great hall and looked around to see if Tristan was down yet. I didn't see him so I dashed to the Ravenclaw table and waited for Della to arrive. I quickly dished myself some porridge and watched the doors to the great hall very carefully.

"Tristan is looking for you," Della told me as soon as she sat down.

"What?" I said loudly. A few people around us turned but when nothing was happening they just shrugged and went back to their conversations.

"He just asked me if I'd seen you," Della said, seeming a little bit concerned and alarmed by my reaction.

"What did you tell him?" I demanded.

"I told him I didn't know if you were down here yet," She replied slowly, "He said he had forgotten something so he was heading back to the Hufflepuff common room but he's probably on his way back here.

"Okay…" I nodded standing up abruptly, "I am avoiding Tristan right now but-"

"Why are you avoiding Tristan?" Della questioned loudly all of a sudden looking very upset which made me feel very guilty.

"Don't worry about it!" I assured her, "You can still talk to him!"

"Did you guys get into a fight or something?" She questioned biting her lip.

"Yes!" I lied, "So why don't you go eat with your friends for today? Is that okay with you?"

"Sure... you're acting really strange though..." She then gave a dramatic sigh and ran over to where her friends were sitting further down.

I was making my way out of the Great Hall to escape back up to Ravenclaw dormitory when Tristan strode in. Without even thinking I dropped to the floor before he saw me. I slowly kneeled and peered over to the Hufflepuff table watching as Tristan took a seat facing the opposite way from me thankfully. I sunk back down a little lower so that he wouldn't see me and waited a few seconds just to make sure that he for sure wasn't going to turn around again.

"You okay Beasley?" I heard someone ask. I jumped in surprise and I looked up to see James Potter standing above me looking down at me with the same amused look he'd given me when I'd lost Victor. How was he always catching me at the most inoportune times?

"Fine," I informed him as I sat up a little bit and then lied, "Just dropped an earring on the ground."

"You know you could always just use accio for that right?" He smirked.

"Right," I nodded not really listening to him. I then I slowly stood, watching the back of Tristan's head to see if he was going to turn around again,"I actually have to run…" I said moving slowly to the door, "But I'll you in class!" I said, and then before James had time to say anything else I ran it out of the great hall and all the way back up the Ravenclaw tower.

I was walking through the hall after my Arithmancy class where we'd just gotten out of class early when I saw Tristan next. Everyone had left the class really quickly so by the time I had exited the hall was deserted and he was walking right towards me.

I thought about turning and running but there was no escape. Anyways, he was a lot faster than me and I was tired of running and hiding.

"I've been looking all over for you," Tristan said exasperatedly as he got closer.

"You have?" pretended, as if I hadn't been hiding from him.

"Willa…" He said with a confused expression on his face, "What's going on? What is this?" He asked holding out my Defence Against the Dark notes. I cringed seeing them in person again.

"I don't know..." I heard myself say. My voice felt far away.

"I mean it's your handwriting…" Tristan pointed out.

"Oh wow," I took a deep breath and let out a fake laugh, "Where did you even get that?" He passed me the notes and I fought the urge to tear it up.

"You gave it to me with your potions notes," Tristan explained, shoving his hands in his pockets, "Was this written recently?"

"No! Not at all!" I say very quickly, "I think that has been buried at the bottom of my bag for years now!" I was trying really hard not to cry, which was a common reaction of mine when I got too stressed out or nervous. I'd been able to hold it together when there had been some hope that Tristan hadn't read the notes, but now everything was crumbling down around me.

Tristan was staring at me so hard I had to look away, "So then… do you… or did you have feelings for me?"

"I mean yes I did have a crush on you a long time ago but it was before you and Clem ever started dating and then you started dating and then I moved on! Don't worry about it." I explained trying to sound casual even though I could hardly breathe.

"Why didn't you ever tell me? Because Willa I… I…" He said struggling to find words, but there was something he wasn't saying that I couldn't quite put my finger on, "I don't know I'm just so confused."

Whatever he was thinking, whatever he was going to say, I didn't want to hear it. I couldn't. I needed to do something immediately.

Before he could say anything more I came up with a lie, "I'm actually dating someone right now."

Tristan furrowed his eyebrows, "You are dating someone?" He repeated.

Oh Merlin what was I doing?

"Yeah I'm dating someone… and he's really great and I really really really like him so it's all great," I told him. I couldn't tell if he believed me or not. I snatched the notes from his hands stuffed them into my bag swearing to burn them later, "I was really confused when I wrote this… You are the first guy I ever knew so it makes sense that I would have a crush on you, you know? But don't worry, I'm totally over it so there is no need to tell Clemence about this!" I stressed.

"Sure I guess..." Tristan trailed off, "It's not like we've talked since she left anyway."

I let out a deep breath, "Perfect. Thanks. Sorry about all this but I'm glad that you know and we can move on now. It was super childish but-"

"Who's the guy?"

"What?" I asked, totally forgetting the conversation we had just had, just happy that he seemed to accept what I was saying.

"The guy that you are dating? Who is he? Do I know him?" Tristan questioned.

I began to panic. I didn't know any guys. Tristan knew I hadn't met anyone over the summer and at a school as small as Hogwarts I couldn't very well just make someone up.

That's when I saw James Sirius Potter turn the corner. Like magic. Beautiful timeless James Potter. And that's when I decided what to do.

"Oh!" I nodded and then before I could stop myself I blurted out, "It's James! James Potter!" And then I quickly ran past Tristan.

I ran straight for James, not stopping to think about what I was doing and I launched myself into his arms, hooking my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. He caught me but staggered back a little bit in surprise. I didn't have any clue what I was doing. James's expression was one pure shock and disbelief and maybe a little bit of amusement because James tended to be amused by my antics. Raising an eyebrow he wondered, "Willa? What-"

I didn't let him answer. I kissed him.

I hoped with everything in me that Tristan was watching. Because otherwise, this was all for nothing.

My heart was beating so fast that I wasn't even worried about doing it wrong. And to my surprise for a few seconds, he was kissing me back. And to my utter shock, James Potter was kissing me back. I hadn't even ever kissed a boy before and now I was kissing one of the most popular boys in school, James Potter.

We finally broke apart and I opened my eyes. James was staring at me with that same look of pure disbelief. Then the school bell rang signaling that people were going to start exiting their classes and I couldn't be seen by the entire school making out with James Potter.

"Thank you," I managed to choke out to James as he set me back down on the ground.

"You're welcome?" He replied, a smirk starting to spread across his face.

Before he could say anything else I sprinted off in the opposite direction.

I skipped lunch and it took all of Charms class for my heart rate to slow down.

I had kissed James Potter. In the hallway. In front of Tristan.

It had been reckless and not thought through at all. What was going on with me recently? Why had I come up with such an elaborate lie? I could have just said I had a crush on somebody knew. I didn't have to make out with James just to prove a point.

My last class of the day was potions. With James.

With James.

He walked in with Fred, Rohan and Billy and immediately caught my eye, grinning right at me and I almost died. I could feel my face flush and I couldn't look his way for the rest of the class, even when Professor Slughorn did the demonstration at his table, I didn't dare look his direction.

I waited for James outside of the classroom, my heart pounding loudly. I had no idea how I was going to explain everything but he deserved some sort of explanation.

He and his group exited the classroom last and his eyes met mine and he immediately grinned, "Beasley! Just the girl I wanted to see!" He said and I blushed once again, "I'll meet up with you guys in a bit alright?" He said to his group.

"Sure mate," Fred shrugged who was followed by Billy. Rohan shot me a confused look. We knew each other a little bit because of Rory so he knew that there should have been no reason why James Potter would want to talk to me but I just smiled like it was perfectly normal.

Once I was sure that everyone was out of the classroom, I started, "So about this morning…" I trailed off, not sure how to start.

"Yeah that was pretty unexpected Beasley," He smirked leaning against a nearby wall. I could tell that maybe he thought that a random girl running up to him and making out with him wasn't all that weird. He was a pseudo-celebrity after all.

"I'm sorry it was just a dumb joke!" I lied but I could tell he didn't believe me.

"Did Wood put you up to this?" He questioned suddenly.

"No!" I defended even though I was reminded of the conversation we had about him breaking up with Holly possibly benefiting her Quidditch game.

"Look," He began, "Don't get me wrong you are cute and I like how unconventional and interesting you are... But Holly and I just broke up so I really don't want to be dating anyone right now." He said clearly thinking he was being very kind to me, "And I mean I had no clue you liked me like that but-" he continued.

Unconventional and interesting? I couldn't tell if those were compliments or not? And wait had he just called me cute?

"I don't like you!" I almost yelled and he looked surprised. I couldn't blame him for being confused. We'd had two weird run-ins after not talking to each other for sixth years and then I'd made out with him and left him with no real explanation and now I was telling him that I didn't like him?

"I mean not like that. I don't like you like that," I tried to clarify.

"Wait... why'd you kiss me then?" He said, very confused, seeming a little taken aback that I had said that I didn't like him.

"Because there is a guy that I like but I'm not supposed to like him and so I said I liked you so that he wouldn't know that I like him!" I said quickly, confusing myself with how many times I said 'like'.

"What?" James said, not following my explanation.

"I told the guy who I like that I like you," I simplified.

"Why?" He questioned still obviously not understanding which I couldn't blame him for. I couldn't really explain it myself.

"I don't know," I admitted with a large sigh.

"Who is it then?" James asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"What?" I asked.

"The guy you like? Who is it?" He inquired.

"I am not telling you that!" I shook my head.

"Oh come on! You dragged me into this!" James pointed out before then prodding, "Or is this just an elaborate story to cover up you crush on me?"

"It's Tristan Davies!" I found myself saying before I could stop myself.

"Ha!" James hooted but then paused with a realization, "Wait isn't that Clemence's boyfriend?"

"Ex-boyfriend," I said looking down at the ground, avoiding eye contact "It's a long story… You get why I don't want him to know I like him though?" I asked pleadingly. The absolute last thing I needed was for it to get around that I had made out with James because I actually liked my sister's ex-boyfriend.

"Yeah I guess that makes sense," James nodded understandingly and then he smirked and shook his head and said, "You are too funny Beasley."

Wow interesting, unconventional, cute and now funny? James Potter was on a role with baffling compliments today.

"I just wanted to say thank you," I told him inching towards the stairs, "I'll see you in-"

"Wait," James grabbed my arm, yanking me back to face him, I tried to squirm out of his grip but he wouldn't let me go, "Davies thinks I'm your boyfriend. What are you going to tell him?"

"I don't know yet," I told him honestly. He seemed to accept that and dropped my arm, and I took the opportunity to head towards the stairs again, "I'm interesting and unconventional, I'll think of something." I said before turning around back towards the stairs.

James instantly burst out laughing behind me as I ran up the stairs and I couldn't believe how crazy my day was going.

"So are you done fighting with Tristan yet?" Della asked me at dinner. I had tried to make eye contact with Tristan when he had walked in but he hadn't looked my way at all.

Rory raised her eyebrows at me but I just waved her off before nodding, "Yes, we are done fighting."

"Good, now we can go back to normal!" Della smiled happily before skipping off to go sit with her friends. I had a feeling things were not going to just go back to normal with Tristan and I.

"What happened?" Rory questioned once Della was out of earshot.

"With what?" I questioned.

"Did you and Tristan talk" Rory pressed.

"Umm… yeah actually," I nodded.

"And...?" Rory pushed for more information.

"I don't know," I shrugged, biting my lip. I was too embarrassed to come out and say that I had sabotaged any chance I had at a future relationship with Tristan because I'd kissed James Potter in a bizarre rash lapse of judgment.

I just wanted to go to sleep and forget that the whole day had happened. I wanted everything to go back to normal but I knew it couldn't fully go back to the way things had been.


	5. Chapter 5

Almost a week passed before I talked to Tristan again. I was beginning to think he was avoiding me until he jogged up to me at lunch where I was sitting with Rory. My heart immediately began to race. I still hadn't explained everything to Rory as I wanted to clear everything up with Tristan first. I could tell Rory desperately wanted to know what was going on but she could also tell how stressed out I was.

"Hey," Tristan greeted me.

"Hey," I said back.

A silence fell between us and I hated it because we had never had a problem with silence before.

"I'm going to go… to the library!" Rory decided, excusing herself but shooting me a supportive smile to which I smiled weakly.

"Oh, um I have your Potions notes," He said reaching into his bag and fishing out the notes that I'd meant to give him, "They were really helpful. Thank you."

"You're welcome," I replied and the silence fell over us again.

"So how are things going with you and Potter?" He asked, surprising me a little bit.

Luckily I'd thought about it and I had my story ready, "We actually got into a fight this morning. I think it might be over already. I wish it wasn't because it was really amazing while we were together but I think he still loves Holly." I tried my best to look heartbroken.

"Really, that's not what he was saying earlier in the library?" Tristan informed me.

My first thought was: Why was James Potter in the library?

My second thought was: What was James Potter saying about me in the library?

My third thought was: Oh no.

"What did he say?" I was trying to sound casual but I knew it was coming off as shrill.

"I don't know I ran into him and I asked about you and he said he really liked you," Tristan explained.

My mouth involuntarily fell open.

"Yeah I was surprised too," Tristan said, noticing my obvious shock.

My heart sank as I tried to interpret his reaction, "You were surprised that he would like me?" The hurt in my voice was obvious.

"No!" Tristan started before amending, "I mean a little bit… Because… you are just not… you know…" Tristan said struggling to find the right words.

"As pretty as Holly?" I filled in for him.

"No!" He said quickly, "That's not it! It's just you are so sweet and nice and you hang out with your sisters and your Dad and you like to do your own thing and I just didn't know that Potter was into that sort of thing."

"Yeah who would be into that sort of thing?" I asked bitterly, feeling very hurt now, "Well it's a good thing James has lowered his standards for little old me I guess."

"No Willa," He tried to stop me but I was tired of listening to his excuses and I pushed past him and headed for Charms.

* * *

In Potions I passed James a note,  _Why would you tell Tristan that we are a thing?_

 _A thing?_ He scribbled back.

 _Please answer the question!_ I insisted.

_Let's talk after class._

I let out a frustrated sigh which was apparently louder than I had planned because Professor Slughorn shot me a confused look. I shot him an apologetic smile though and he smiled back and continued on with the lesson. One of the perks of being a quiet Ravenclaw who never disturbed class is that I could get away with things that other students probably couldn't.

After class, James left with his friends which was confusing because he was the one who had told me we'd talk after class. I waited for a few minutes before finally giving up and grabbing my things in a huff and making my way out of the dungeon door.

Upon stepping outside though, I immediately collided with James.

"Whoa there," He told me smirking as he put his hands on my hips, steadying me, "Somebody is eager!"

I stepped out of his arms quickly, "Why did you tell Tristan you like me?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest defensively.

"Well first, you're welcome for lying for you," He began.

"Thank you," I said without thinking. Wait? Why was I thanking him?

"You're welcome," He shot me a winning smile.

I groaned at how insufferable and unhelpful he was being. I should have chosen literally anybody else to profess my fake love to. His smug arrogant grin was driving me crazy.

"I had just told him that you were so obsessed with Holly that it wasn't going to work between us," I explained, wanting to take him down a few notches.

"I'm not obsessed with Holly!" James said, glaring at me.

"Sure you aren't," I said with a sly knowing smile. I knew that Holly was a sensitive topic for him. But if I had to talk about her to get James to be serious about this than I would do it.

"What do you know about it, Beasley?" He shook his head.

"I know the rumors," I shrugged feeling powerful all of a sudden. Over the years, Rory had told me a lot of different stories she'd heard from Rohan.

James thought about that for a second, grimacing, "It doesn't matter now," He decided, "We broke up. I'm over her."

"I thought she broke up with you?" I pointed out sweetly and he glared at me again.

"It was mutual," He shot back quickly.

"I'm sure it was," I nodded sympathetically.

"It was!" He insisted defensively.

"So you've said," I said. I was surprised at myself. I had never been this cheeky before in my life. Where was this coming from? Maybe I was just still annoyed about what Tristan had said earlier, "Something tells me that Holly Macmillan would not be super happy about any other girl at Hogwarts dating you and I don't want to stand in her way."

I wondered if Holly knew that I kissed James. Suddenly I was worried about that and I had dropped my tough girl act I was trying to put on for James.

"I forgot you two were friends once," James said thoughtfully. And now he had taken some of the power back from me. Holly was a sensitive topic for me too.

"Hardly," I scoffed, "Once she found out that my… nevermind that's not important right now. What are we going to do? What's our story?"

Suddenly James took a step forward, making me impulsively take a step back, he was looking at me in a strange way that made me nervous, "What?" I asked him suspiciously.

"Let's just let people think we are dating for a while," He said taking another step forward. I took another step back but this time I backed up into the wall. He'd cornered me.

"What?" I practically whispered, making him smirk that annoying smirk he always did.

He took another step forward and placed his hands on the wall on either side of my head and leaned in forward, forcing me to press back against the wall. He was standing very close to me now and I'd never realized how tall he was. He towered over me and my heart began to beat a little faster.

"Holly is still trying to control my life even though we broke up," he stated and that sounded like Holly to me. She had always tried to control everyone around her. She hadn't liked when I had befriended Rory because she hadn't approved it. She could be very self-centered and wanted everything to revolve around her. And when it didn't she would take control and manipulate situations so that she was in charge.

"This whole thing kind of perfect timing actually," He continued, "We pretend to date and then Holly understands that I've moved on." I didn't answer and James cocked his head and put his hands on my shoulders, "What do you say, Beasley? Pretend to date me?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," I told him quietly.

"Why not?" James asked dropping his hands from my shoulders and finally taking a step back.

"Well, I don't like you like that…" I started, scooting away from the wall.

"I don't like you like that either. At all," He explained and I rolled my eyes at his bluntness, "That is the point. It's all fake."

"Holly will kill me!" I tried again.

"Don't worry Beasley," He then added with a smirk, "I'll protect you."

"I don't know James… it just seems-" I started but then interrupted me.

"What about Tristan!" James decided suddenly.

"What?" I question, suddenly interested in what he has to say.

"If you pretend to go out with me then Tristan won't think you like him anymore!" He explained.

I thought about it for a few seconds. Turning over every detail of what could go wrong in my mind. Of course objectively this was all crazy. But on the other hand, maybe this is what my life needed. I'd always been the girl that just sat and watched life pass me by. Maybe it was time for a change.

Grudgingly I said, "Fine…"

"What?" James said, seeming amazed that he was able to convince me.

"Fine. I'll do it" I told him.

"Perfect!" James grinned, obviously thinking he was some sort of genius, "You will not regret this Beasley!" He told me before quickly turning on his heel, leaving me standing in the dungeon by myself.

I walked back up to my dormitory, feeling like I was floating on a cloud. I was dating James Potter. Kind of. Not really. But everyone is going to think I was dating James Potter.

* * *

"You okay?" Rory asked me at dinner. I knew I had to tell her before tomorrow when I assumed word would spread around school. Rory had Quidditch practice after dinner so now was really the only time to do it.

"I'm dating James Potter," I told her, not looking directly at her.

She almost choked on the kidney pie she was eating, "You are dating James Potter?" She repeated, her eyes wide.

"Yes," I nodded shyly, wishing just a little bit that it was real and that this wasn't all some elaborate lie. It felt wrong lying to my best friend.

"Oh, my… How? How did this happen!" She said sounding a little hurt that I hadn't told her without being prompted.

"It's kind of a crazy story!" I told her, "But we had a few moments and then we kissed and the timing just worked out really well," I was very careful with my wording.

"And you don't like Tristan anymore?" She wondered.

"Nope," I said, my words hollow.

"Wow! Okay! I'm not going to lie I'm surprised and I am going to need a lot more detail than that after practice missy!" She insisted standing up and getting ready to head down to the Quidditch pitch. "Are you happy?" She questioned suddenly.

"Yeah," I lied, "Very happy."

And I guess it was believable because she smiled, "I'm glad you got over Tristan! I think it's for the best really. I mean he's great and all but I just never could see it working out. And I mean James is… a big personality... but I think you could be a really good influence on him! And he obviously has better taste than I thought he did!" She commented seeming impressed.

"Yeah..." I nodded. Of course, I was lying to her so I couldn't blame her for her bluntness but that stung. Rory could never see it working out with me and Tristan. While a part of me knew deep down she was probably right, I desperately wanted her to be wrong.


	6. Chapter 6

When I left the Ravenclaw common room the next morning to head to breakfast with Della, James was waiting for me at the bottom of the spiral staircase. He was leaning against a wall across from the stairwell entrance and looked handsome as ever. For a moment I almost passed him by, assuming he was waiting for someone else but he called me over to him.

"Are you ready Beasley?" He greeted me.

"For what?" I wondered suspiciously.

"I think it's time to make our debut at breakfast," He informed me. Our debut? What was he talking about?

"I eat breakfast with my sister every weekday morning," I told him, immediately feeling childish. However, I was not about to be the one to break up the Beasley girl breakfast.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yes. It's tradition," I nodded before adding, "And boyfriends—especially fake boyfriends— are not invited. Beasley girls only."

James looked offended by this and was about to argue but then just sighed "Fine. I guess I'll just walk you to breakfast then." I could tell he was displeased by this as he'd had a plan for some elaborate show but I was happy that I had stood my ground.

We began to walk and when he suddenly grabbed my hand I almost recoiled in surprise until I remembered that this was what normal couples did. So we headed down to the Great Hall, hand in hand.

Coralie Nott, one of Holly's best friends. did a double take when she saw us. I tried to ignore her. Everyone was staring actually. I tried to smile like  _Of course I'm dating James Potter, what's weird about that?_ But really I just wanted to run and hide. James kept waving to people and saying hi to people that I didn't recognize. He seemed to know everyone in the whole school.

At one point I tried to let go of his hand, but his grip tightened and I shot him a glare to which he sent me a tight lipped smile.

When we reached the Great Hall I was relieved to see that Della was running late and was not seated at the table yet. I still had to work out how to explain this all to her as it was inevitable that she would find out eventually. I turned to James to tell him I would see him later, only to see him suddenly leaning towards me, ready to kiss me. I was so startled that I turned my head away at the last minute and his forehead smacked into mine.

"Ow!" James whined.

"What was that?" I hissed rubbing my head.

"We are a couple. Couple's kiss " He said quietly through clenched teeth.

"You can't just try to kiss me though," I whispered back as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You didn't seem to have any problems with kissing last time when you had to make someone jealous," He murmured but I shook my head. This was not something I was willing to budge on. He sighed, seeming pretty annoyed.

"Fine," He hissed back finally releasing my hand with a huff, "See you later."

The second I was free I practically ran towards the Ravenclaw table, collapsing onto the bench. However, once I sat down I did notice Holly MacMillan had her eyes laser focused on me. She looked away upon seeing me notice her but I could feel her eyes on me all while eating breakfast with Della.

I decided not to tell Della just yet. I didn't want to drag her into my drama. I didn't know how long this was even going to last. And so I let her babble on about Ariel's recent escapades all the while thinking about what a disastrous situation I had gotten myself into.

I didn't see James for the rest of the school day. I didn't know his schedule or anything and we hadn't planned out a time to meet next so the rest of the day passed as normal. Except for it wasn't normal at all. Everything felt wrong and I was more anxious than I'd ever been. It didn't help that more people were staring at me. I assumed people had started figuring out that I was apparently dating James Potter.

I needed to clear some things up with James as soon as possible.

After asking Rory I found out the Gryffindor's Quidditch practice time and that evening I headed down to the Quidditch pitch. I was a little early so practice wasn't quite over and the sun was just beginning to set. I watched for a bit as the Gryffindor team soared through the air, running through several drills. I had always been jealous of people who were good at Quidditch as I was very uncoordinated on the broom. Clemence and Della and I had never really been huge Quidditch fans and I'd only ever been on a broom during first year flying lessons. I only went to the games when Rory insisted that I did and it was to support her and Chloe more than anything.

"Hey!" I heard someone yell from above, "Someone is watching us!"

Suddenly I recognized James's friend Billy Peterson and his cousin Roxanne Weasley landing nearby and making their way over to me looking very intimidating.

"What are you doing down here Beasley?" Billy demanded looking at me suspiciously as Roxanne crossed her arms over her chest. I regretted coming down to the pitch and looked around hoping to see James but he must have been in the air still.

"I need to talk to James," I began to explain.

"What do  _you_  need to talk to James about?" Roxanne asked raising her eyebrows.

"Uh…" I started not exactly sure how to explain the situation.

"Aren't you best friends with Rory Wood?" Billy pressed, looking me up and down as if sizing me up which was laughable because Billy was easily twice my size. "Did she send you down here as a little spy? Because don't think that just because everyone thinks you are a nice quiet girl that we will let you get away with that sort of behavior."

My eyes widened in horror, "No! Rory is my friend but I'm not here for that. James and I just—" I started but I was interrupted yet again as Roxanne let out a long dramatic sigh, seeming wary.

She seemed to think I was just another one of James's fans. It sounded like she had given this speech before, "James is really busy right now and doesn't have time to talk to you. You seem like a smart girl and I know that's probably hard to hear but you see we have a game coming up.. I'm sure you've heard he's just broken up with Holly MacMillan? So I know James can be charming and all but I think he's given you the wrong impression."

"Well if it isn't my adoring girlfriend," James said loudly. He'd landed and was striding across the pitch towards me. Annoyingly despite having been on a broom for several hours soaring through the air, James looked perfect.

I watched as Billy and Roxanne's mouths fell open in surprise.

"You two are dating?" Billy managed to sputter out.

"Yes," James said confidently.

"When did this happen?" Roxanne was not hiding her surprise. I was trying not to be insulted with the sheer number of people who had reacted in total shock to hearing this news.

"Recently," James shrugged. Neither of them looked totally convinced but I smiled at them and shrugged as if to say  _told you so_.

"Do you have a second to talk?" I asked him.

"Anything for you," He smiled charmingly and I had to remind myself once again that this was all for show, "Let's take a walk," he suggested. He put his hand on the small of my back and began to lead me away from them.

"I still say she's a spy!" Billy called after us, "I'm watching you, Beasley!"

"Thanks for the warning Billy!" James called back suppressing a laugh.

We started taking the long way back to the castle. The sun was setting and by this time, most students would be inside so there would be no one to overhear our conversation. As soon as Roxanne and Billy were out of earshot he turned to me, "So, are you breaking up with me already?" He was so smug as he said that, challenging me to be the one to give up the act, but I didn't want him to be right.

"No," I disagreed, "We just need to plan this out a little more. Get our story straight and make some rules."

"Rules?" He questioned, raising his eyebrows.

"Rules like I don't want you to try to kiss me again," I informed him. He was so much taller than me that I was having trouble keeping up with him as we walked up the hill towards the castle.

"Are you sure?" James teased waiting for me to catch up to him, "Our first kiss was pretty good."

"Can you be serious for five seconds?" I requested blushing madly and avoiding eye contact.

"Beasley, Sirius is my middle name!" He joked with a smirk and I just glared at him, wondering how many times he'd made that joke. I'd walked right into that one.

"You did not just say that," I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, being serious now, people aren't really going to believe we are dating if we don't touch each other," James protested, "I've got kind of a reputation to uphold."

"It's just…" I hesitated a little bit wondering how much I should admit to him, "I've never really been in a real relationship before so this is all new to me."

"And you'd rather be doing it with someone for real?" He deduced.

"Yes," I nodded looking down at the ground.

James stirred over this for a moment before nodding, "Okay, I get it."

I was a little surprised at how he had just accepted this. It was kind of sweet. "So no more kissing?" I wanted to confirm.

James sighed, "Yes, Merlin I get it. You don't want to kiss me," But then he decided to use my rule as leverage and said, "In exchange though you have to come to all of my games  _and_  the after parties." He was on a roll, "And we have to go to Hogsmeade together. And no Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop." He decided. Madam Puddifoot's was a tea shop in Hogsmeade that was especially popular around Valentine's Day.

"I never said anything about Madam Puddifoot's!"

"You seem like the type of girl that would like it there." I wanted to tell him off for making assumptions about me but I actually did like Madam Puddifoot's.

"And I don't have to pay for you or buy you flowers." Apparently, James was very cheap.

"I get the picture," As we reached the castle, I began to wonder if this was all worth it. Then I remembered how awkward it had been between me and Tristan for the past few days and how he had been so surprised at the idea that James liked me and I wanted to prove to him and everyone else wrong and so I agreed to his terms, "Fine," I sighed.

James looked very pleased with these concessions on my part so I added, "But you can't flirt with other girls. And you have to walk me to my classes and... write me notes!"

I didn't want to concede everything to James. If we were going to do this, I wanted him to be a good fake boyfriend. Tristan had always written Clemence sweet love letters. Solid, tangible proof that he was thinking of her.

"Okay," James agreed as we started making our way up to the seventh floor, where both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw towers were.

"And you can't tell anybody the truth about what is going on!" I said quietly. There were no other students around but I didn't want anyone to overhear.

"And vice versa. Now, what's our story?" He asked.

I thought through what would make the most sense, "We started talking on the platform first day back when you helped me catch Rory's cat. We'd never really talked before but you were intrigued by me and we had a sort of connection," James scoffed but I ignored him, "Once you and Holly broke up you realized you wanted to move on and you asked me to hang out after potions that day and we've been hanging out for a while and now we are pretty much dating."

"Do you think anyone will buy that?" He asked seeming skeptical.

"Can you think of a better story?" I challenged him.

"I guess it will do," He shrugged. As we reached the seventh floor, two younger Gryffindor girls passed by and we both stopped talking. James shot them a winning smile and they both turned bright red and scurried away.

"How long should we do this for?" I finally questioned once they were out of earshot. I'd been wondering about this since we'd first agreed to do this.

"I don't know," James answered not seeming to care.

"We should have an end date though, shouldn't we?" I questioned tightly.

"Relax!" James laughed, "Let's just see what happens. Everything doesn't always have to be perfectly planned out."

I sighed but nodded. Maybe it would be nice to not have everything so planned out for once in my life.

"That's the spirit," He said brightly, "I'll pick you up tomorrow down here for breakfast then?"

"I have—" I began to argue but he interrupted me.

"I know, I know, you have breakfast with your sister," He acknowledged, "I'll just walk you to your table and we'll go from there."

"Alright… meet me here at 8 o'clock then," I approved and then we both turned and left towards our respective common rooms.

When I entered the common room, some of the students were having a trivia night gathered around the fire, a common activity in Ravenclaw tower.

I was about to head upstairs to grab my homework and head to the library when I heard someone call, "Willa!" It was Marie who was sitting with Chloe at one of the study tables close to the entrance. I suspected Grace was probably off doing her prefect rounds. The beckoned me over to them.

"Is it true?" Marie questioned.

"Is what true?" I asked not sure what she was talking about.

"Are you seeing James Potter?" Chloe said quietly.

"Oh… yeah," I answered simply.

"Wow!" Chloe said shooting me an approving look, "We thought it might just be a rumor! Good for you though! He is well fit!"

I bit my lip and nodded, "Yeah we just kind of hit it off recently. I'd barely talked to him before this year," I had gotten a lot better at lying over the past week.

"Aren't you scared of what Holly MacMillan will do?" Marie wondered pensively.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"Don't you remember what she did when she and James were on a break fourth year and he tried to date Alison Li?" I shook my head. I didn't remember hearing about this at all. "She and Coralie pushed Alison into that vanishing cabinet in the Defence Against the Dark Arts room! She was missing for three days!"

I felt myself go a little pale. I hadn't heard that story but I didn't like it at all. "I'm sure that was just a rumor," I told them trying to remain calm.

"No Alison told me herself!" Marie stressed, "So just watch your back! I don't trust Holly at all!" I nodded before excusing myself to go do my homework. So apparently there was a chance that Holly wanted to destroy me and she also because we'd been friends my first year she already knew all about me.

However, I knew I couldn't back out of this now, I had to prove everybody wrong. I had to prove to Tristan that I didn't like him anymore. I had to prove to the whole school that a guy like James Potter could be into me (even if he really wasn't). I had to prove to James that I wasn't a quitter. And I had to prove to myself that I could take hold of my life and stop letting it pass me by.


	7. Chapter 7

James wasn't there when I got to the bottom of the stairs that morning so I waited for him as we had planned. I was starting to get annoyed that he was running late and was about to leave when he arrived looking very tired.

"Why did I agree to wake up at 8 a.m. again?" James asked in a raspy voice, stifling a yawn as he took my hand and began to lead me towards the Great Hall.

"Good morning to you too," I replied. James looked slightly annoyed by this comment. Apparently, James was not a morning person.

As I walked down the hall I felt like I had been invisible my entire life and now for the first time ever I was being seen. Random people smiled at me and not one person knocked into me. I was also less nervous this time and it was nice knowing we had boundaries and guidelines now.

When we reached the Great Hall Della was already sitting at the Ravenclaw table and her eyes widened when she saw me walking in hand in hand with James Potter. I immediately let go of his hand. I didn't know if I was ready to introduce him to Della yet.

"Alright I'll see you later then," I said starting to walk towards the Ravenclaw table.

"Wait," James said and I stopped, "Don't you want to introduce me to your sister?" He wondered.

"Not really," I said honestly. He looked very offended by this. Because who didn't want to meet James Potter? "I don't really want to involve family in this yet," I explained.

"She's going to find out sometime," He reasoned, "And she's just seen us holding hands."

He was right. I sighed, "Fine."

As we walked over to the table I couldn't read Della's face at all. "Good morning," I greeted her calmly.

She didn't say anything. She was just staring at James. I'd almost never seen Della speechless before.

"This is James," James smiled a charming smile at her as I introduced him and Della watched him closely with an uncertain look painted across her face.

"Hi! What's your name?" James said seemingly unphased by her reaction to him. He was probably used to people being awestruck by him.

"Adelaide," She said shortly.

"Everyone calls her Della though," I added.

"Everyone who knows me," She corrected in a prim voice, "You can call me Adelaide." Now my mouth dropped open in surprise at how she had shifted so quickly from speechless to brash confidence.

"Oh tough!" James laughed seeming impressed. Della smiles a little bit. James was pulling out all of the stops to try to impress her. He was definitely a show-off. And he was good with kids. His younger sister Lily was in Della's year. "Nice to meet you,  _Adelaide_ , I'm James, your sister's boyfriend," He introduced himself without skipping a beat.

There was a pause as Della absorbed this information. I turned to James, shocked at his bluntness but he didn't seem to notice. This was certainly not the way that I'd imagined introducing a boy to my sister, even if it was all fake.

"Since when?" Della demanded.

"It's very new!" I tried to defend myself.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Della cried.

"We've barely told—" James started but Della cut him off.

"I'm talking to Willa," Della clarified indignantly and I saw James try not suppress a laugh at how my overly confident twelve-year-old sister was talking to him, "Does Clemence know?" Della asked.

"Not yet," I admitted before adding, "I'll tell her when I'm ready." I could tell Della liked knowing something that Clemence didn't.

"Alright well it was nice to meet you,  _Adelaide_ ," James said and then to me he said, "tell me when you are done with your private breakfast so I can walk you to class."

I nodded and wordlessly took a seat across from Della who was glaring at me. James headed over to the Gryffindor table and I began to help myself to some eggs and toast, not making eye contact with Della.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me you have a boyfriend," Della huffed finally.

"I'm sorry," I quickly apologized, "It just kind of happened really fast. And I didn't know where it was going so I didn't want to tell you if it wasn't going to turn into something serious." Not a total lie but also certainly not the truth.

"How'd you meet?" Della insisted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well..." I started thinking about how to frame this story, "I've had classes with him for years now but we started talking on the Hogsmeade platform the day we came back. Rory's cat got loose and he helped me catch the cat and we started hanging out."

"That's the whole story?" I could tell she was disappointed.

"Yes," I had a feeling I was going to have to tell this story a lot of times so I was going to have to find a way to jazz it up.

"That's not a very good story," Della said honestly.

Luckily before Della could ask any more questions the owl post flew in and Agatha dropped off two letters for Della and me from Dad and Clemence. Clemence had included several pictures of her and her friends seeing all of the sights in Budapest and some interesting Hungarian chocolates called Dragon Eggs which Clemence explained in her letter had little Hungarian Horntail model dragons in them.

Dad's letter talked about how he had joined a football league with some of his friends at work and how work at the bank was going. He said he missed us a lot. Luckily a Hogsmeade trip was coming up soon so I could send both Clemence and Dad some things from Honeydukes.

After we were done eating, Della seemed to have forgiven me for not telling her about James (it didn't hurt that I had given her almost all of the Dragon Egg chocolates) and before class started she went to go show her friend the sweets that Clemence had sent.

When it was almost time for class, I walked over to the Gryffindor table to get James. He was sitting with his friends and other Gryffindors including some of his cousins. Most of the Weasley and Potter clan had been sorted into Gryffindor with Albus Potter being the only exception. Gryffindor was always the loudest table in the Great Hall but it got suspiciously quiet when I started walking over.

I noticed Holly and Coralie Nott along with Poppy Moore, the other main girl in Holly's group watching me from further down the table, her eyes glued on my every movement. Holly had always had every meal with James before the breakup and it wasn't uncommon to see them making out in random passageways or in front of classes. Even if this was all fake I didn't want to be like that.

"Sorry to interrupt. Are you ready?" I asked him tentatively, aware of how many eyes were on me.

"Yes," He said taking a last swig of his pumpkin juice before standing up, "Let's go."

I knew I should have probably said something to his friends and family but I didn't know what to say so I just smiled. Then he grabbed my hand and waved back to his friends as he whisked me towards the Transfiguration classroom.

"So have you talked to Holly at all?" I asked, trying to make it sound conversational.

"Not yet," James frowned at the mere mention of her name.

"She hasn't said anything to you or mentioned me at all?" I dug a little deeper.

"Nope. I'm sure she will soon though," He assured me and then with a sly smile he asked, "Are you really that scared of her?"

"I don't know," I told him honestly, "Marie was telling me about what happened with Alison Li—"

"Oh yeah, that was kind of a mess," James admitted.

"That really happened?" I said horrified as we reached the Transfiguration classroom.

"Yeah but Holly and I are officially done this time so I don't think she'll lash out like that," He explained although that really didn't comfort me at all.

"Hey Wills," Rory said arriving uncharacteristically early for class, she then turned to James and amicably nodded, "Potter."

"Wood," He nodded back.

"How's the team doing?" She wondered. Unsurprisingly it had taken all of five seconds for the conversation to turn to Quidditch.

"Wouldn't you like to know," James shook his head grinning. The first game of the season was coming up soon too and was Gryffindor vs. Slytherin who even I knew probably didn't stand a chance. The Ravenclaw and Gryffindor game was the most anticipated game of the year but wasn't for several months still. Then he turned to me "I'll see you later Beasley?"

"See you later," I agreed. We had Defense Against the Dark Arts together later which was the only class besides Potions we had together. There was an odd pause as most couples would probably kiss but of course, we had agreed not to so instead he just turned and began to walk down the hall.

"That's going to take some getting used to," Rory commented as we both watched James disappear around a corner, "Right are you ready to conjure more birds? I'm so sick of those little birds. I'm ready to get to human transfiguration already." Rory asked as we entered the classroom. We'd been reviewing conjuring and vanishing spells but would soon be studying human transfiguration spells which would allow us to change physical features or possibly an entire human being into other forms. I was a little bit nervous about this as we would be using ourselves or our partners as test dummies for this process.

"You just want to feel like a metamorphmagus," I told her as I knew she was intrigued by the idea of changing her hair color with the flick of her wand.

"Well Professor Lupin just makes it look so bloody cool doesn't he?" She defended herself which made me laugh.

* * *

Later that day during Defense Against the Dark Arts, James and Rohan had moved to sit closer to Rory and me.

I had always heard Clemence complain about James and his friends but as far as I could tell they weren't that bad. Rohan was very funny in a somewhat surprising way as he was the Gryffindor prefect but I supposed he was really probably the only option as Billy, Fred, and James were certainly not good candidates for prefect due to fairly frequent detentions.

I also always loved to see how Rory and Rohan lovingly teased each other too.

When Professor Lupin briefly brought up boggarts in class Rohan whispered, just so Rory, James and I could hear, "What's your boggart again Rory? Oh yeah isn't it that little doll you had!" James sniggered a little bit. Apparently, when she was younger, Rory had received a creepy doll called Jane from one of her Aunts. She claimed Rohan had bewitched to fly around her room at night and scare her.

"Those are pretty bold words coming from the guy whose boggart is the dark," Rory whispered back instantly and I had to try really hard to stifle my laugh into a cough.

James and Professor Lupin were close having grown up together and it was clear James they had a very brotherly relationship.

James and I were paired up to practice nonverbal spells during class, Professor Lupin gave me ten points for Ravenclaw for being the first person to successfully jinx anyone using a nonverbal spell. James hadn't been able to block my nonverbal Knockback Jinx and had staggered back several feet, landing hard on the ground. Rohan, Fred, and Billy had all applauded me. Professor Lupin had gotten a kick out of seeing "quiet little Willa Beasley" knock James over.

After class James passed me my first note. I didn't want to open the note in front of Rory so I slipped it into my bag, knowing that I would read it the second I was alone. Holly was in Defense Against the Dark Arts too and I could see her watching James and me closely. I was sure that she'd seen James pass me the note.

After class Rory had Quidditch and James had another class so as I walked towards the library by myself, I dug the note out of my bag and opened it.

_I've got to stop underestimating you Beasley. - J_

I smiled as I read and reread the note several times over.

"Boo!" A voice suddenly said in my ear. I screamed a little bit jumping back in fright only to see that Tristan suddenly appeared in front of me, seemingly coming from the library. I'd been so wrapped up in the note that I hadn't even seen him.

"Merlin! You scared me!" I told him off, jokingly hitting in the arm.

"That was amazing," He laughed at my reaction and I rolled my eyes good naturedly as I was just happy that he'd acknowledged me. "How are you?" He questioned and I couldn't help but smile. My favorite thing about Tristan had always been his warm and inviting energy. I was always comfortable around him.

"Good! I just got ten points for Ravenclaw for performing a nonverbal jinx in Defence Against the Dark Arts," I bragged.

"Nice one," Tristan said giving me a high five.

"Willow wands are supposed to be good for nonverbal spells, but I'd never gotten a chance to test it until today!" I told him. My wand was made of willow wood which Tristan, of course, knew because I had a tendency of going off about wand facts whenever the opportunity presented itself.

"Are you heading to the library?" Tristan questioned.

I nodded, "Sixth year is a lot of work."

"Now you see why I was so exhausted for most of last year," He reminded me, "You're so good at school though, I'm sure you'll be able to keep up with everything." I beamed at his compliment.

"You're good at school too!" I assured him.

"I procrastinate a lot though. I would never have finished that paper on shrinking solution last year if you and Clemence hadn't helped out!"

Clemence and I had stayed up all night to help Tristan finish a potions paper which he'd forgotten about. We'd become slightly delusional around two a.m. and had gone looking for the Room of Requirement (which we did not find) and then I'd almost fallen asleep outside of Ravenclaw tower because I'd been too tired to answer the riddle.

I laughed at the memory and immediately missed Clemence, "We've still got to find the Room of Requirement before you leave Hogwarts!" I told him.

"I have some theories," Tristan reported, then he noticed the piece of parchment in my hand and nodded to it, "What's that?"

"Oh, nothing, just a note from James," I said with a fake air of nonchalance as I put it back in my bag.

"Oh… I thought you said that was over," Tristan suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"We got back together," I shrugged, "We talked for  _hours_  yesterday and worked everything out!" I said brightly.

"What do you two even talk about?" Tristan wondered pensively.

"I don't know, lots of different stuff. Family, friends, books—" I started but Tristan cut me off.

"Potter can read?" Tristan snorted and I furrowed my eyebrows a little bit. Upon seeing my reaction he tried to stop laughing, "Sorry. It's just he's kind of a cliche isn't he?"

"That's not very nice," I told him stiffly.

"Oh come on! You remember Clemence telling us all of those stories about him parading around Gryffindor tower like he owned the place!"

"I've gotten to know him better now though" I lied. I still didn't really know James all that well, but I felt it was my duty as his fake girlfriend to defend him. It hurt a little bit that Tristan was being so critical of my alleged boyfriend.

"Sure, whatever," Tristan said. He wasn't laughing anymore and he had clearly not appreciated me defending James, "Well I've got to go talk to Professor Longbottom but I'll see you around Wills."

"Okay," I agreed, knowing that I needed to get to the library so I could continue working on my homework.

So, things weren't totally back to normal but I still believed that this was better than Tristan knowing that I had a crush on him. This way he didn't have to reject me and I didn't have to resent him for picking Clemence over me and I didn't have to tell Clemence that I'd secretly liked Tristan for years. This was better and eventually, things between Tristan and I would get back to the way they'd been before.


End file.
